Alibi V.16 No.20 • May 17-23, 2007

An oddball collaboration comes to the Blue Dragon

By Steven Robert Allen

Leo Neufeld and Daddy Long Loin make for an unusual duo. Neufeld is perhaps Albuquerque's best-known portrait painter, a soft-spoken neo-realist with an enviable knack for capturing the intellect, personality and emotions of his subjects. As an artist, he strives to do more than merely replicate the outward appearance of the diverse people he paints. You don't look at one of Neufeld's paintings; you look into it.

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Three prize packages up for grabs!

Just in time for the holiday season! Win great prizes like hotel staycations and spa packages from The Remedy Day Spa and Rio Grande Bodyworks. Enter to win by voting for the prize package of your choice every day at alibi.com from November 15–December 5!

Sequels, sequels and more sequels!

NM Overdose—This weekend is your chance to check out dozens of films shot by fellow New Mexicans. The third annual New Mexico Filmmakers week is sponsored by the New Mexico Film Office and takes place Thursday through Sunday at the Guild Cinema in Nob Hill. Not only can you catch four days worth of cinematic goodness, but all the screenings are 100 percent free.

The movie biz in New Mexico is about more than rubbing elbows with Steven Seagal

By Jessica Cassyle Carr

By now, few weeks go by without movie announcements from the governor's office, film-related good news in the papers, sets causing novel parking problems for neighborhoods and fistfuls of third-hand celebrity gossip and Steven Seagal sightings. In fact, it was just announced that the political comedy Swing Vote (starring Kevin Costner) and the West Coast swing-dancing romance Love N’ Dancing(starring Amy Smart) will both be shot in the Duke City this summer.

Documentary of immigrant injustice is a haunting history lesson

By Devin D. O’Leary

I’ve always been fascinated with the image of Sacco and Vanzetti—partially because I know so little about the actual case that propelled them to infamy. I know them as stoic poster children for the anarchist movement. As potential martyrs to the cause of social injustice. As the subject of countless art projects, posters and folk songs. But I can’t say that I know the exact circumstances that made them such counterculture icons.

“Dirty Jobs” on Discovery Channel

By Devin D. O’Leary

Given my assorted weekly drama addictions (“Heroes,” “Lost,” “The Riches,” everything HBO shows on Sunday nights, every other season of “24”), I’m often grateful for a show that requires no commitment from me, the viewer. My head is crammed full of assorted “mythologies,” and I just can’t add another plot-heavy, conspiracy-filled show to the mix. Season finales are here en masse and I’m already getting mixed up: Is Mr. Linderman head of the Dharma Initiative?

The Week in Sloth

A Gay Ol' Time—For a quarter century, the New Mexico Gay Men's Chorus has been singing like angels for appreciative audiences in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and beyond. Founded in 1981 as the Brash Ensemble, the group has gone through plenty of changes over the years, but one thing has always remained consistent: the high quality of the music.

What your drink really says about you

By Jessica Cassyle Carr and Laura Marrich

We all have our favorite drinks, but did you ever stop to think those drinks may point to omens that describe you and predict your destiny? With springtime upon us, we thought we'd add divination and pseudo-scientific mystery to the season's spiritous activities. In the end, what you're drinking might say more about you than "you drink too much."

Steven Seagal gets it

By Jennifer Wohletz

Adding coconut milk to a dish is a lot like adding Steven Seagal to a movie: They both come on subtle, but eventually take over and overwhelm the opposition. One of the hallmarks of Thai cooking is coconut milk, which is not the watery liquid found in a fresh coconut, but the fragrant, fatty cream taken from the ripe palm nuts (they’re nuts, not actually classified as fruits). It’s used for consistency and flavor, and also to tone down spicy curries by sopping up the hot.

In Creole cuisine, rémoulade is the pride of the po’ boy: a veritable catch-all sauce of ketchup, mayo, mustard, Louisiana mirepoix and spices. In France, the sauce is more refined and its classic accompaniment is celery root. The basic formula for a rémoulade in both the motherland and southland milieu is: mayo, something pickled, herbs and spices. Our recipe is a vegan take on the French version, and we used it as a platform for a classic bistro salad of celeriac. Not familiar with this brute of a root? Don't be surprised when you go from grocer to grocer praying you can avoid a run to Whole Foods for these glorious dirt bombs. You will fall in love with this dish.

E-mail This To All Your Friends!—Generally, I don't read past the first few paragraphs of any story in The Onion: America's Finest News Source. The headlines and the wacky lead are the funny parts—the rest is just made-up, tired fluff. As a member of the media, I enjoy scanning its pages to see what big-buzz story parody makes the front page or which cultural absurdity will be thrown under the microscope of comedic scrutiny (i.e. "Women Who Claims Book Changed Her Life Has Not Changed"). And as a member of the media, a recent article threw my industry under the microscope with surgeon-like precision, rife with "made-up, tired fluff" and a heavy dose of reality.

Dateline: England —Homes were evacuated, a main road was closed and a controlled explosion was set off after a “suspicious package” was found attached to a bridge in Pease Pottage, West Sussex. In the end, some bats were mighty pissed. The A23 and the B2110 highways were both closed for several hours after an Army bomb disposal team was called in to investigate. Several nearby homes were evacuated and motorists experienced long delays as the mysterious box was destroyed without incident. The British Highways Agency eventually identified the suspicious package as a bat box being used as part of a wildlife survey. “We are working on ways to improve identification of our property to avoid a repeat of the incident,” a B.H.A. spokesperson told the BBC.

Local artists lend their talents to documentary film project

By Jim Phillips

Farmington native Justin Hunt is the brains and guile behind American Meth, a documentary film he wrote, produced and directed.With a gift for storytelling (surely the result of years of hard-knocks experience in television journalism), Hunt attempts with American Meth to shed some light on an inexplicable addiction to a dangerous and faithless drug, methamphetamine. An edgy subject, to say the least.

If you ask Alison Shaw why she's so driven to do the things she does for local music, she'll look at you with an expression that implies, “Why aren’t you?” With less than a week before Hyperactive Music Festival II, Shaw is busy working out the fine tuning on an event she launched last year in June.

The Launchpad celebrates 10 years of earth, wind and fire

By Jessica Cassyle Carr

The city of Albuquerque contains legions of rock ’n’ roll fans who have witnessed the performances of idols and demigods, experienced life-altering moments of personal heartbreak and triumph and, during its 10 years, more or less grew up at the Launchpad.

50 things (or more) to do in Albuquerque this summer for $5 (or less)

The last thing you want to do is spend the entire summer wasting away on your couch in your underwear, shelling pistachios in front of the TV while the world goes by without you. Take part! Take action! For this year's summer guide, the Alibi brain trust collected more than 50 adventures available to the citizens of Albuquerque for the lowest of prices—from five bucks to free. So pull out the couch cushions, rustle up a couple dollars of change and let the good times roll.

Ten things to do for $10 or less

By Amy Dalness

In case you haven't noticed, Santa Fe is over-priced. The homes are expensive. The attractions are expensive. But if you look beyond the glitzy, tourist-approved exterior, you’ll find a trip to Santa Fe is well within your budget. Gas may still cost a pretty penny (unless you take a shuttle or wait for the Rail Runner to extend into the City Different), but the cost of spending an afternoon or a weekend in our state's capitol can be a mere pittance. This list of 10 things to do for $10 or (much) less should help you find the bargain behind the bulge.

A few of Albuquerque's better (and cheaper) museums

By Compiled by Amanda N. Dales

Albuquerque Museum of Art and History2000 Mountain NW, 243-7255This leading museum for Southwestern art, culture, and history has a fascinating collection of sculptures, paintings and photographs.Hours of Operation: Tuesday–Sunday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.Admission: $4 adults, $2 seniors (65+), $1 children, ages 4–12.Admission is free every Sunday from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. and all day on the first Wednesday of every month.

Things to do through August 1

By Amanda N. Dales

ALL SUMMER

Black Holes: The Other Side of InfinityLodestar Astronomy CenterThis science and technology film, which runs most of the summer provides a complete picture on the mysterious phenomenon of the black hole. The film shows the mystery of wormholes, the creation of the Milky Way Galaxy, and the violent death of a star and subsequent birth of a black hole. 12 p.m., 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m. Admission: $7 adults, $6 seniors, $4 children (3-12). 841-5955.

The city's proposed teen music center is in danger

By Laura Marrich

The city's plan to establish an all-ages, teen-run music center was set in motion with the purchase of the Ice House building last year. But it's hit a snag. Without a show of your support at two upcoming meetings, the proposed center may be cut out from the funding it needs to get off the ground.

One-way highway

By Jenny Gamble

There once was a car that was cheap, the fastest car on the street. You could own it if you were poor and couldn’t afford more, but still … the car could never be beat. And thus, the “Poor Man’s Ferrari” became a classic machine worth more than 10 times its original listing price.

“I'm trying to be the greatest there's ever been.”

By Marisa Demarco

Brother Ali speaks quietly, his thick East Coast accent eloquent and thoughtful. When we speak, he's in Boston in the middle of a two-month tour. Lots of musicians bitch about being on the road, but Ali loves it—except for missing his new wife and 6-year-old son. He's a serious guy who's had to sacrifice and scrap his way to fame, riding a heap of critical praise for his first big success with the Rhymesayers label, Shadows on the Sun.

Double Whammy—A pair of MFA students from UNM will present twin exhibits of their work starting this weekend at [AC]2 (301 Mountain NE). Erin Emiko Kawamata and Min Kim Park both delve into gender, ethnicity, memory and stereotypes in their photo, video and performance art. Stop by the gallery on Saturday, May 12, from 6 to 9 p.m. to find out more. The shows run through June 10. 842-8016, www.ac2gallery.org.

Macbeth in Space at the Box Performance Space

By Steven Robert Allen

Sure, the original plot of Shakespeare's Macbeth is adequate, but just think how much better it could be if the weak parts were tightened up a bit. For example, instead of setting the play hundreds of years ago in Scotland, how about setting it hundreds of years in the future with all the action taking place on a space ship? And instead of a heavy examination of naked political ambition, why not focus instead on the virtues of butt-kickin' girl power?

How to be an American Journalist, Part II—Last week, “Thin Line” focused on an eye-opening documentary by Bill Moyers on how the media failed to ask tough questions during the run-up to the Iraq War. It's instructive to learn about the failures of our largest publications and networks, about reporters blinded in a fog of patriotism. As potential military conflict with Iran approaches, what are the questions we should be asking? Primarily, are things really as they seem? How do we go beyond military news releases and spokesperson responses to get to the heart of this situation?

Our obsession with war

By Jerry Ortiz y Pino

One of the amenities of living in this high-tech world that our household most enjoys sampling is Netflix. We watch films ordered from this outfit that slipped past commercial theaters and that I didn’t get over to the Guild in time to see.

The rock star of investigative reporting

By Jim Scarantino

Santa Fe’s Lensic Theater. A packed house. Techno rap rattles the sound system. A gruff baritone on full automatic slams rhymes of defiance and rebellion. The audience sways to the relentless, driving beat. The woman next to me slides to the edge of her seat. I think she’s holding her breath.

Dateline: Italy—A fan of the AC Milan soccer team, angry over the poor performance of Brazilian-born goalie Dida, put the player up for sale on eBay. The 33-year-old, who joined Milan in 2000, was a hero after the shootout win over Juventus in the 2003 Champions League final, but his popularity has slumped after a series of errors. Unfortunately, the goalie did not raise much interest on the popular auction site. His sale price, before the auction was shut down by eBay officials last Friday, had reached just 71 euros (about $116) after 25 bids.

Shoot Quick, Ask Questions Later—Perhaps you’ve heard of this Duke City Shootout thing? Well, if you’ve always toyed with the idea of getting involved, here’s yet another chance. This Friday, May 11, is the deadline for submitting your screenplay for consideration to the 2007 Shootout. Script submission requirements include a cover page with name of author, address, telephone number; a 12-minute script (i.e. 12 pages); and an entry fee of $35. There are two ways to submit scripts. You can mail hard copies of scripts, including checks or money orders payable to the Digital Filmmaking Institute, to: “Duke City Shootout, P.O. Box 37080, Albuquerque, NM 87176.” Or you can submit electronically and pay by credit card at www.withoutabox.com. Representatives of New Mexico’s Digital Filmmaking Institute and renowned screenwriters from around the country will select the seven best scripts to be produced. The Shootout will fly the seven winning screenwriters to Albuquerque, where they will be given a cast, high-definition digital camera and lighting equipment, a production crew, post-production facilities, transportation and even a professional mentor—everything they will need to bring their script to life. For more information and updates on the 2007 Shootout, visit www.dukecityshootout.org.

Poker-faced drama is a few cards short of a full deck

By Devin D. O’Leary

The question at hand is this: Why would white-hot acting stud Eric Bana follow up his Academy Award-caliber Steven Spielberg drama Munich with a seemingly inconsequential romantic comedy like Lucky You? There are actually several possible answers to the question, but it should first be noted that Lucky You only seems like an inconsequential romantic comedy—an impression no doubt enhanced by some rather misleading television commercials.

Tears of the Black Spider

By Devin D. O’Leary

Remember the classic line from A League of Their Own: “There’s no crying in baseball!” Well, until very recently, there wasn’t any crying in superhero movies either. But thanks to the release of Spider-Man 3, all that’s changed. For all its explosive action and multimillion dollar special effects, Spider-Man 3 is memorable mostly for its soulful weeping, its emotional cry jags and its manic depressive mood swings.

Condensed tidbits from around the dial

By Devin D. O’Leary

Bye-Bye, Bob Barker—After 35 years of hosting daytime gameshow “The Price is Right,” 85-year-old Bob Barker is finally retiring. Names of replacement hosts are being bandied about (Mark Steines, Todd Newton and George Hamilton seem to be the frontrunners, although Rosie O’Donnell is tooting her own horn rather loudly). Rest assured someone will be back in a Burbank studio quizzing people on the price of canned corn sooner than later.

The Week in Sloth

The term “barley wine-style” is a new one on us. We like to think the guys at Avery Brewing Co. were making hand quotation marks as they seized on the phrase. That’s because Hog Heaven is hardly the malt bomb that you’d expect from a bottle with “Barley Wine” on the label. Most powerhouses in the barley wine class, like Stone’s Old Guardian or Anchor’s Old Foghorn, are heavy on sugary roasted malts and can knock you out with a boozy left hook. In a class of beasts and brutes, Hog Heaven is the Oscar de la Hoya of the barley wine world.

They’ve got the dude food

By Jennifer Wohletz

The inside of Chicago Beef bears an eerie resemblance to a single guy’s apartment. This restaurant (in what used to be the Doc and Mz. V’s building on Isleta) absolutely tickled my pickle with not only a menu of bona fide “dude food,” but the general air of bachelor living personified in bare walls and a profusion of condiments.

Alibi V.16 No.18 • May 3-9, 2007

Black River Falling at Theatre X

By Amy Dalness

Human suffering is alluring. Struggle. Loss. Torment. Misfortune. Misery. It thrills us to a point of disgust and retreat, then enthralls us again. There's a subtle beauty in anguish—a beauty Kevin R. Elder attempts to capture in Black River Falling.

The Pajama Men interview The Pajama Men

By Steven Robert Allen

Just because they spend most of their waking hours in pajamas doesn't mean they're lazy. Far from it. In 2004, Albuquerque's beloved homegrown comedy duo The Pajama Men got picked up by legendary comedy producers The Second City. They moved to Chicago. Many people wept.

We turned photographer Tina Larkin loose on the streets of Downtown to capture Saturday's Crawl, and these are just a few of the brilliant images she brought back. We at the Alibi would like to send out our heartfelt thanks to all the bands, clubs and music fans that made this weekend's Spring Crawl a success. We'll see you on Saturday, August 25, for Fall Crawl!

With the end of the schoolyear fast approaching, students will soon be finished with roughly nine months' worth of hard work and perseverance. Other than a summer vacation and, at best, a diploma to be received at a later date, there isn’t much in the way of a tangible reward for the efforts of New Mexico’s academics.

Charmed splits the bill with Erika Luckett at the Outpost

By Mel Minter

Local folk duo Charmed—Bambi Jackson (guitar, keyboard, vocals) and Alicia Ultan (viola, guitar, vocals)—regularly take on love and death; and with a turn of phrase, a deft melody and a wicked sense of humor, they carry listeners beyond the heartache and pain to the mystery and healing.

One reporter’s Spring Crawl 2007 experience

By Simon McCormack

If you want to really feel that you’ve gotten your wristband’s worth, it’s probably best to arrive at the Crawl by at least nine. I had an added incentive however, for a relatively early arrival as local electronic/booty rock band Rap was slated for the 9 p.m. slot at Burt’s Tiki Lounge.

Arrrrrrbuquerque—Everybody's favorite swashbuckling musical comes to UNM's Popejoy Hall Wednesday, May 9. If Gustavo “The Mexican” Arellano isn't quite your bag (see the books section in this week's Alibi), this classic Gilbert and Sullivan operetta should satisfy your more traditional entertainment instincts. The plot's pretty simple: Our hero Frederic is apprenticed to a band of pirates after his nursemaid misheard instructions from Fred's father, who asked that he be apprenticed to a pilot. Hijinks ensue. England's Carl Rosa Company mounts this rum-soaked spectacle to the accompaniment of a full orchestra. Tickets range from $25 to $42. Order by calling 925-5858 or going to unmtickets.com.

Photographer Diane Alire will discuss and sign her new book, The Cross Garden, at New Grounds Print Workshop on Friday, May 4, from 5 to 8 p.m. In the book, Alire documents a Christian roadside attraction in Prattville, Ala., created by the self-ordained Reverend W.C. Rice, who, under instructions from God, painted his fiery proclamations on everything from refrigerators to abandoned vans and placed them in his oddball garden. The book is an engrossing and often disturbing collection of images in which Alire faces up to her own background as a former Southerner and Baptist. Prints from the book will be on display through May 26. For more information, call 268-8952.

Love him or despise him, Albuquerqueans have paid close attention to the inflammatory wisdom of Gustavo “The Mexican” Arellano since we began running his column last year. He just published a new book called ¡Ask a Mexican!—a hilarious compendium of his finest columns. He's traversing the solar system on a monster tour to promote his new baby.

Leeks aren’t onions, but they’re in the onion family. Their tough-ass stocks are great for braising. After playing with leek rings, we’ve decided they’re great for frying too. Usually when we cook with much of the green part (further up the stock) we opt for methods that will help wilt it, but here we tried to use most of the leek to get a variety of ring shapes.

Cookbook explores the cupboards and kitchens of your favorite bands

By Marisa Demarco

Maybe you, like me, are one of those people who imagines reverse personifications. For example, if that lady were a vegetable, she would totally be an eggplant. Perhaps you look at friends and see colors (Bob's just blue, you know?), animals (I'm an osprey) or brands of cola (Sally is so Mr. Pibb).

The Daily Grind doles out sage wisdom and savory treats

By Kate Trainor

Nancy Rogers bakes the best scones in the city—sans any Queen Elizabeth snobbery. Like Nancy, the scones are sweet but laced with a tart, teasing bite that beckons customers back for seconds. Her favorite phrase? Shut the hell up. It’s not difficult to comply, especially with a mouthful of buttery baked goods.

The Santa Fe River declared "most endangered"

By Jessica Cassyle Carr

On April 18, the Santa Fe River was named America's most endangered river of 2007 by American Rivers, a Washington D.C.-based national river advocacy group. The river, a tributary of the Rio Grande that runs across 46 miles of Northern New Mexico high-desert and mountain terrain, passes through Santa Fe and provides the city with about 40 percent of its water supply. The river has been mostly dry for decades. The declaration was made due to a severe lack of water.

How to be an American Journalist: Part I—Dan Rather says it best. “We didn’t do a good job.” On Bill Moyers’ 90-minute dissection of U.S. media in the run-up to military action in Iraq, “Buying the War,” Rather’s shown crying on Lettermen when discussing Ground Zero, saying he’ll get in line where the president needs him to get in line.

We know who lost the war

By Jerry Ortiz y Pino

David Broder, the syndicated Washington Post columnist, blasted Sen. Harry Reid last week for daring to state publicly that the war in Iraq has been lost. Broder, who apparently doesn’t get out much, avers that Reid’s statement was “an embarrassment to the Democrats.”

Ye Olde News From Week Past

By Jessica Cassyle Carr

Monday, April 23: Today we found out via a press release from the governor's office that Albuquerque City Councilor Martin Heinrich is taking a leave of absence from his post as state Natural Resources Trustee to consider a congressional run against Leather Heather. Since Wilson won re-election to the U.S. house by the narrowest of margins in 2006, and has since been named in the Iglesias scandal, some folks think 2008 will be the year Wilson's reign of doom is brought to an end.

Dateline: Canada—Police in the city of Nanaimo, British Columbia (Bathtub Racing Capital of the World), arrested a man after he was found walking around naked with a swastika taped to his body. Police were called to the scene last Friday by concerned residents. When questioned, the man told police he was “honoring Hitler’s birthday.” He was detained and will undergo a psychiatric assessment. Hitler was born on April 20, 1889.

Vaudeville on Film—On Saturday, May 5, from 2 to 3 p.m., stage-to-screen historian Frank Cullen will give a presentation/lecture on “Film Roots” at the Albuquerque Public Library Auditorium (501 Copper NW). The presentation will cover the world’s first mass market entertainment, Vaudeville, through to its immediate successor, motion pictures. Cullen is the author of Vaudeville Old & New: An Encyclopedia of Variety Performers in Americaand founder of the American Vaudeville Museum. “Basically, without Vaudeville, film would not have been the industry it was,” argues Cullen. “Vaudeville supplied the pillars of the business: the venues, the distribution network, the talent, the publicity machine, the trade papers.” Cullen’s lecture is free and open to the public and leads directly into ...

An interview with writer/director Salvador Carrasco

By Devin D. O’Leary

These days, Mexico City-born filmmaker Salvador Carrasco is an instructor at the Los Angeles Film School. Back in 1998, he made his feature film debut with the epic historical drama The Other Conquest (La Otra Conquista). At the time of its release, it became the highest-grossing Mexican film in history.

Verhoeven goes from Hollywood to Holland to make war sexy once again

By Devin D. O’Leary

Paul Verhoeven is a strange cat. The Dutch director started out his career with a wealth of well-received European films, including the 1977 Golden Globe-nominated Soldier of Orange—an unflinching look at the Nazi occupation of Holland during World War II. A decade later, Verhoeven kicked off his Hollywood career with a bombastic string of hits—from 1987’s RoboCop to 1990’s Total Recall to 1992’s Basic Instinct to 1997’s infamous career-crusher Showgirls. Add another 10 years to Verhoeven’s resumé and we arrive at 2007’s Black Book (Zwartboek), a modestly budgeted indie drama shot back home in the Netherlands.

What a WGA strike could mean

By Devin D. O’Leary

The last time the Writers Guild of America went on strike was 1988. The strike lasted more than 5 months and paralyzed Hollywood, forcing TV networks to pack schedules with unscripted news shows and pushing film studios to release films three to six months later than expected. In 2001, the Guild threatened to strike again over upcoming contract negotiations, but the work stoppage was narrowly avoided. Now, with contracts once again up for renewal, Hollywood is whispering the “s”-word, and it’s got some people nervous.